Snow fence



June 11, 1957 R. J. ANDERSON 2,795,399

SNOW FENCE Filed Aug. 5, 1955 2 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 114 I AMA;

BY ATTQR 'EY June 11, 1957 J, ANDERSON I 2,795,399

SNOW FENCE Filed Aug. 5, 1.953

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HIJI" f I 112 r.

ATTORNEY SNOW FENCE Ralph J. Anderson, Evanston, Ill., assignor, by mesne as-' signments,.to. American Sisalkraft Corporation, a corporationofJDelaware Application August 5, 1953', Serial No. 372,538 Claims. (Cl. 256-125) This invention relates to snow fences, and particularly toa fence of the type having horizontally extending strip barriersfastened toa series of posts, to deflectiand' con.- trol drifting snow by'its'influence on air currents;

The most common type of snow fence in currentuse consists of posts driven into the ground at suitable intervalsand' supporting vertically or horizontally extending woodenbarriers arrangedin spacedrelationship to each' other. In one form of such a fencewhichis commonly used, closely spacedvertical wooden slats are. supported from wires extending between'steel'posts'. Someof these fences'areregarded as permanent-structures; while others are temporary, portable'structures and are erected each winter season and taken down in" the spring. These fences are heavy and cumbersome, and both their erection and dismantling-for storage are costly because of the labor involved. They are also expensive in material costs.

because of the types and quantitiesof materials used.

Another type of snow fence hasflexible'horizontal strips fence is light in weight, easy to handle, and it is very inexpensive both in materials and in the cost of labor of erection and dismantling.

The fence is "durable both in its materials and the means for securmg them together, enabling it to withstand the most severe winter conditions involving high turbulentwinds, so that the fence is particularly well suited for erection and maintenance along extended. courses,..sometimes miles in length, as required for the protection of a highway or railroad right-of-way.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view'of a snow fence embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged. fragmentary elevation looking fr'omitheroad in Fig. 1, showing thexmeans for attaching a strip barrier to one of the intermediate posts;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation view, similar to Fig. 2 but on different scale;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of a post with the barrier attached, looking from the right in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a flexible element which is part of the fastening means of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a post showing the location of two barriers with fastening means relative to the ground and to each other;

Fig. 8 is a plan of a modified form of the invention;

= tes Patent Fig. 9 is a sectional view corresponding, to Fig. 3 but of the modified'form;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation, looking toward the road in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation view looking from the right in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the reenforced paper that is especially suitable for this purpose, one lamination being,

turned'back to illustrate the manner in which the paper is reenforced by fibers.

As shown in Fig. 1, the snow fence of the present invention has posts 10, preferably of iron, driven into the ground along the right' of way 12 which it is desired to keep free of snow. The posts are spaced at suitable intervals and driven to suitable depths so that the fence will withstand the'force of winter winds. A given stretch of fence may have any desired number of posts, and the end' posts of any series may be braced by means of guy wires 14. Barriers of strips of reenforced, tvaterproofed paper1'6; suitably spaced apart, are fastened to the windward sides of the postsll), in a manner to be described, bearing against the surfaces of the post that face away from the right st-way 12'. In this way the posts are between the strips and'the right of-way, enabling the fence to withstand winds blowing through the fence toward the road 12'; In the case'ofthe end posts, as shown, the strip' preferably first approaches the post on the leeward side andthen wraps around the post to be secured to it on the windward side.

The posts 10 in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 2 to 7' are U-shaped in cross section to present openmouthed'channels, indicated at 3, bounded'by the divergingside walls 5 and 7 and'the bottom wall 11. The strips of paper 16 are attached individually to the posts by being held'in the channels'by bars or' boards 20 of relatively stitf'material, such as wood, extending vertically crosswise of the strip 16 and secured to the posts; as will appear. The bars 20 deflect the strips of paper 16 into the channels and in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the paper strip becomes U shaped in configuration and is pressed firmly against inner surfaces of the channel.

The board 20 is of 'a length greater than the width of the paper strip and its ends extend past the edges of the paper strip and are made fast to the posts 10 by wires 22 wrapped around the post and the board at points above and below each strip of paper. Conveniently, the board may be of a length approximatingthat of the portion of'the post'exposed above ground to span vertically a number ofhorizontal strips 16 of paper.

The length of the wires 22' is adequate to permit one or more turns to be taken around a post and a strip of wood, with the paper in position, enough Wire remaining to permit the ends of the wire to be twisted'together. As can beseen in Fig. 6, the wires are providedat their ends with loops 23 which facilitate twisting the ends together to secure the boards 20 firmly against the strips of paper 16 and hold them tightly in the channel. A.han'd tool such as arod insertable into'the loops 23 can be used to twist the ends'of the wiretogether.

The outer edges of the legs of the U are provided with small protuberances 18 disposed at vertically spaced intervals as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. The wire embraces the post intermediate a pair of vertically adjacent protuberances and the protuberances guard against slippage, lengthwise of the post, of any wire fasteners that may be inadequately tightened, and retain them in fastening position.

Protective cushions 25, which also may be of reenforced paper, are provided at the places at which the strips 16 are fastened to the posts. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 to 7, the protective cushion 25 is formed from a piece of reenforced paper of a length approximating twice the width of a strip 16 and of adequate width so that it may first be folded lengthwise for double protective thickness and then is applied by being folded transversely midway of its length to enclose both sides of the strip forming a cushion of a width to extend, with 'the paper strip, from slightly beyond one edge of the U-shaped post, around the board 20 and between it and the inner wall of the post channel, to and slightly beyond the other edge of the post. In this manner a double cushioning layer 17 (Fig. 3) of reenforced paper is interposed between the post on one side of the strip 16 and a second double layer 19 is interposed between the other side of the paper strip 16 and the wooden strip 20. In Fig. 5 the numerals 17a and 19a designate the legnthwise fold made before the strip is applied. This construction very greatly reduces wear on the paper strips and contributes to their effective use in a fence which must withstand rough treat meat from high winds and snow storms.

Usually two spaced strips 16, each approximately one foot wide, arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, have been found satisfactory. The lower strip is fastened about one foot above the ground level, and the upper strip is fastened about one foot above the lower strip. More strips of paper may be necessary for a particular location, and a different spacing may be desirable.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to 11, the posts 40 are T-shaped in cross section, having a leg 41 and a cross piece 43. They are driven into the ground along the road 12 with the leg 41 of the T parallel with the road. As shown in Fig. 8, the strips of reenforced paper 16 are arranged adjacent the windward side of the posts so that the posts are between the paper and the right of way. The reenforced paper strips 16 are attached to the posts 40 by being held between the posts and boards 44 secured to the posts by one or more wires 22, wrapped around the posts and the boards at points above and below the reenforced paper strips 16, the ends of each wire being twisted together. The post is provided with protuberances 42 in spaced relationship along the cross piece 43.

A similar protective cushion 45, preferably of folded reenforced paper, is employed.

The T form of post has a V-shaped channel indicated at 13 formed by the sidewalls 15 and 17 and this form of post has an advantage over the U-form in that paper strips are frictionally held between the post and two sides of the board rather than one side as in the Fig. 1 embodiment.

The paper that is especially well adapted for use as the strips and, when folded, as cushioning, is made of two plies of paper 50, 52 (Fig. 12) each treated with a resinous material to inhibit shrinkage upon repeated wetting and drying, and secured together by an adhesive, such as asphalt, in which reenforcing fibers 54, extending crosswise and transversely, are embedded.

The fence made in accordance with my invention, while described as a snow barrier, may be useful as a sand barrier and for other purposes. It is sturdy of construction, well enabling it to withstand the rough usage of heavy weather. The paper strips are secured to the post without the use of nails and the strips are not weakened by perforations from any type of fastening means. The paper is cushioned against tearing by the. block or post .4 edges even when the strip is whipped about by turbulent eddy currents which are created when the wind strikes the fence and which are instrumental in causing the snow to pile up short of the right-of-way to be kept clear.

No separate fastening means for securing the boards are needed as they are clamped with the paper as the wire fasteners are tightened. Ready adjustability is afforded by which strips may be varied in position relative to each other or to the ground or to the snow, as may be desired.

With very heavy snow storms it is frequently desirable to increase the effective height of the snow fence relative to the ground as the snow depth increases, and the ready adjustability of the barriers of my fence adapts it to that use. All of these advantages may be attained, according to my invention, in a fence which is cheap in material cost and can be erected and dismantled with exceptional facility.

The embodiments above described are to be taken as examples rather than limitations on the scope of my invention, which is defined by the claims below.

I claim:

1. A fence for controlling drifting snow and the like comprising a plurality of upright posts spaced horizon tally from each other, at least one strip of flexible sheet material extending transversely of the posts, the posts being formed with longitudinally extending channels, bars deflecting the strip inwardly into the channels, fastening means securing the bars to the posts and frictionally pressing the strip between the bars and the innermost surfaces of the channels and cushion means comprising fiexible sheet material folded about the strip and interposed between the strip and a bar on one side of the strip and between the strip and the post on the other side to reenforce the strip against tearing.

2. The fence as defined in claim 1 in which the flexible sheet material comprises paper.

3. The fence as defined in claim 1 in which the flexible sheet material of which the strip and the cushion means are composed comprises paper.

4. The fence as defined in claim 1 in which the posts are T-shaped to form the channels and the strip is pressed between the bar and two surfaces of each channel disposed substantially perpendicular to each other.

5. A fence for controlling drifting snow and the like, comprising a series of upright posts spaced horizontally from each other, at least one strip of a laminated sheet material extending transversely of the posts, the posts being formed with longitudinally extending channels having inner side walls, bars deflecting the strips inwardly in an angular course in proximity to the side walls, and fastening means securing the bars to the posts and fric' tionally pressing the strip between the bars and inner surfaces of the channels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,080 Bailey July 4, 1916 1,795,544 Eisenmann Mar. 10, 1931 2,530,247 Koonz Nov. 14, 1950 

